Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed a growing trend…both within my clients and the clients at the day spa where I work. People are experiencing an increase in lower back pain…some to the point of crippling their ability to move through their lives.

Sometimes, of course, such situations are as a result of a serious medical condition which requires appropriate medical treatment from a physician. And sometimes, such situations are as a result of feeling unsupported in some aspect of life. If the source of the pain is the latter, no amount of medical care, chiropractic care, acupuncture, or massage will fix the pain…only changing the situation will bring any amount of relief. That being said, that change could be anything from changing an attitude to leaving a situation completely.

Coincidentally, a current theme in the cards I’ve been drawing recently, regardless of which deck I use, is that we are at the end of a cycle. Many different spiritual teachers are saying similar things, so I’m fairly certain that this is not a new idea or thought. However, how that ending shows up in our day-to-day mundane aspects of life is not always addressed in these grand statements…sometimes we can find ourselves completely frazzled, stressed out, exhausted, and panicked without a clear understanding as to why.

The why is this: that which once served our greatest happiness does no longer.

Because so many of us are experiencing this ending, a lot of other people are being affected by our choices…whether we want them to be or not. For example, one person in a relationship may decide that he or she is ready to move on…and the other person is not. One person in a relationship may decide that he or she is ready to commit more deeply and the other person has to decide whether to agree or walk away. One person may decide to sell his or her house and everyone else in the family, or the tenants, now have to face the consequences of that decision. One person may decide to go back to school leaving friends and family to adjust to that person’s change in availability. One person may decide to open a company or close a company…one will hire, one will lay-off. One person may decide to move to a new location…sometimes across the country or to a different country, leaving friends and family behind. One person may decide to leave his or her job situation, either for a new position in the same career or change careers altogether…affecting co-workers, a company or institution, and friends and family.

The first key in all of this change is that we are powerful…beyond our greatest imaginations. Look at all of the changes listed in the previous paragraph simply because of one person’s decision. You could be that person…and you probably are, in some capacity. Yet, without the appropriate support, even the most fluent change-er and grow-er can feel vulnerable…and experience some pretty severe lower back pain.

The second key is the saying, “As above, so below.” We address the situation in a higher dimension where things shift more easily and quickly and then simply reflect the change down into this dimension. What’s even more lovely about this process is that our mind’s consciousness doesn’t have to know how to do this…our Higher Selves already know. All we have to do is connect in and up and ask for the shift to be done.

In this particular situation, the shift is happening through our contracts. Before we experience life in this dimension we work with our guides and teachers to create contracts for this lifetime. This is how certain people or events “miraculously” appear in our lives at just the right moment. However, if we’ve altered our path slightly through our choices, or we haven’t updated our contracts recently, the opportunities or people who come to us through these changes may not be helpful. Similarly, when we’ve completed our contracts, we need to put new ones in place.

And that is what is going to be happening for the next two weeks. We are updating or rewriting our contracts, and as we do this, we will be releasing people and situations from our lives. Some of these people are not in physical form…some of them have been our support group in different dimensions and they contribute to our lives through our “conscience”…that inner voice or voices that guide us. Sometimes those inner voices conflict with each other or with our inner wisdom. When we become aware of that, it’s time to release that soul from our support group…our contract for working together has ended.

The result of this release is that there is now room to bring in different souls and situations…souls who not only vibrate at a higher frequency and who can help us move forward in the direction we wish to go, but opportunities that are in alignment with our current spiritual path.

As this “changing of the guards” takes place, our body interprets this vulnerability and shift as a lack of support…hence, lower back pain. So it’s important to ask for increased protection and support from the higher realms. The Divine Masculine Energy in the forms of Shiva and Ganesh/a are helpful for transforming that which has completed and for removing obstacles between where we are and where we wish to go. Similarly, the energy of Archangels Michael and Raphael are fabulous for protection and cleaning and healing the old in preparation for the new. The Divine Feminine Energy in the forms of Quan Yin and Mother Mary are beautiful energies of unconditional love and compassion as we experience the transition. Archangel Metatron is an excellent strategist, and the Goddess Isis brings in the sacred Source of feminine power and creation.

Most importantly, your soul family is very near to you…desiring to be your source of strength and support. These are the souls who have known you intimately for aeons…and love you with a fierce and passionate commitment. Invite them to surround you…to come so close to you that you can’t help but feel them and their energy…so close that your back now feels like it’s leaning up against a strong, immovable object…and object so strong, that your back feels supported enough to relax and move fluidly, releasing the pain and the fear and the tension of protection so that there’s room to dance…to flow…to invite in the new.

For much of the Western world, “Friday the Thirteenth” is a day to be feared…full of superstitions around bad luck and dark things beyond our power. Many people or institutions skip the number thirteen altogether in order to avoid the associated bad luck with that number. And, to be fair, anyone who has any experience with the Sacred Feminine knows that some of this reputation is true…She is dark and can be filled with things beyond our power…especially for those who are unwilling to look beyond the surface of life, the illusions and shallow entertainment of Western culture. So long as we deny ourselves our own power the Sacred Feminine is indeed a force of terror and destruction.

But this isn’t the only force found within the Feminine. There are also lighter sides of the Sacred Feminine…gentleness, compassion, love in all its forms, creation, being, sensuality, and receiving. And today is the perfect day to celebrate the balance of these aspects of the feminine…dark and light, destruction and creation, gentleness and terror, existence and being. Why? Because today symbolizes the end of something magnificent and beautiful…the completion of birthing a creation…a birthing that began nine months ago…the birthing of our new selves and a new pattern of being, living, and creating…another step in the balancing of the masculine and the feminine throughout the world.

Next, is Friday…the day named for the Norse Goddess Freya, and the image for today’s post. This image comes from The Goddess Oracle deck by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and Hrana Janto. A portion of the description of this card follows:

The Northern Europeans called their lusty Goddess Freya (pronounced fray’ya), which means ‘mistress,’ and gave her name to the sixth day of the week, Friday. She was the ruling ancestress of the elder Gods, or Vanir. She and Frigga are two aspects of the Great Goddess, Freya being the maiden aspect and Frigga the mother aspect. Freya didn’t discriminate in her choice of lovers: all the Gods were fair game. When Freya appeared draped in her feathered cloak and wearing nothing but her magic amber necklace, none could resist her.

Freya is here to assist you in honoring your sexuality. It is time to connect with that vital, primal, spiritual, regenerating energy and express it, whether or not you have a partner. It’s about being fully present in your body. Not just the shoulders or head but the clitoris, anus, breasts, and feet. It’s about allowing yourself to feel vibrant, electric energy in your sex organs and use that energy to animate your being.

Have you been feeling that sexuality is too enormous or frightening or taboo to deal with? Do you fear that living and loving your sexuality will keep you from being a ‘nice girl?’ Have the messages learned in your adolescence kept you from exploring your sexuality? (If living your sexuality brings up fear, you may want to work with Kali, or consult a therapist.) Have you been too busy to take time to give to yourself sexually? Do you feel that sex requires a partner and if you aren’t with one you can’t enjoy your sexuality? Freya says that when you live your sexuality, you open to the dynamic energy that flows through all creation. When you close down, close off, close up, you limit your possibilities for connecting with Goddess energy, which brings you greater vitality. Your path to wholeness needs to include all your parts and your sexuality is an important piece of you.

Interestingly enough, according to the Genesis stories of the Creations, the sixth day was about humanity and sensuality and sexuality. Because of this and the ultimate sacredness of Friday night opening into Shabbas the Bride, it is a mitzvah to make love to your beloved at least once between the Friday night and Saturday night hours…which leads us to the Thirteen portion of today.

In one of my earlier blogs, I wrote a short piece on the Sacred Feminine number Thirteen and its connection with the mystical aspects of Judaism and the Attributes of Divinity. It has significance for today as well because, in the Jewish practice, tonight is the beginning of Yom Kippur, the most sacred and holiest of days in the Jewish calender…also the most terrifying.

I struggle with this holiday…mostly because I do not believe in the concepts of sin and a horrific and terrifying judgement day…a day where I must fast and deny myself physically in order to ascend spiritually. I do, however, believe in Restorative Justice…a repairing of damages from a place of understanding, gratitude, abundance, and love rather than from a place of shame, judgement, and condemnation. This latter space, fueled by fear, is what I feel in Yom Kippur services…all save the opening call on Erev Yom Kippur…which would be tonight…Friday night…that sacred night of union with the beloved, welcoming in the Bride of Shabbas and soul connection. That opening call of Kol Nidre is so stirring and filled with memories of things I do not know that it’s hard to simply ignore this tradition and practice.

So, today is significant because it indicates possibilities. Perhaps there are clues around this Jewish tradition that could reveal an adjustment to the current practice…involving more than what currently exists. For instance, the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter Mem. In the Ask the Kabala Oracle deck, this letter is associated with Miram, the older sister and protector of Moses, leader of women, and guardian of water in the desert…all deeply symbolic associations. The hidden-in-plain-sight thirteenth tribe of Israel is the Levi tribe…the tribe without land yet given the mysteries of sacredness. The Gematria for the Hebrew words for “love” (ahava), “care” (de’aga), and “one” (echad) all have the numerical value of thirteen. And, traditionally, when a child reaches the age of thirteen, he/she is ready to become an adult in the Jewish tradition through the bar/bat mitzvah process.

Thirteen is everywhere in Judaism, and so frequently symbolizes the Feminine and sacredness that it makes me wonder. If we bring all of these concepts together…the Bride of Shabbas, the Kabalah Tree of Life, Sacred Geometry and the Merkabah, the Thirteen Attributes of Divinity and all the other symbology of thirteen within Judaism…is Yom Kippur really being celebrated in integrity with the tenants of Judaism or is there a modified way of celebrating or honoring this sacred time…a way that includes transformation from a place and time of support and rebirth and renewal rather than pure destruction. A space of releasing to allow recreation to flourish and abundance to grow. A space of balance between the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine where love, compassion and connection are the leaders.

Because look…today…Friday the 13th…Freya’s day…in the year of the black water snake…with grand water trines in the heavens…filled with feminine symbology of thirteen…today, something is changing.

This has been some ride, hasn’t it? The last two months have felt exactly like a roller-coaster for me…sometimes it’s just too much of a rush to do anything except hold on and stay present. In such situations, my screams are usually reserved for after I walk away from the breathless contraption.

Our current energetic temperature feels like that walking away moment. The fire was lit at the full moon, giving energy and movement to the areas of life I have focused on, and now, in this new moon, I’m beginning to see the fruits of all of my efforts…some of them have been years in the making. There is also a sense of relief…completion…finale…conclusion.

There might be some grief for some through this process. If so, honor it and ride it out. Remember, your body can only sustain an intense emotion for a maximum of 90 seconds at any given moment, so stay present, breathe, and let it take you to your next destination.

For others, this process may create a sense of celebration. The exclamation of “FINALLY!” comes to mind. If this is you, take a moment to stop and appreciate yourself and all that you are…all that you’ve survived and accomplished…all of the choices you made…all of the growth you’ve achieved…all of your triumphs in the daunting face of impending failure. Honor yourself in gratitude and humility as you complete this incredibly difficult and tremendous cycle.

For we are moving out of the completing energy of the void…the falling away space…and into the growth space of the new moon. During the void, as massive amounts of finished business wrapped up and fell away, a kind of energetic purging is taking place…a process that the body may want to also experience. This purging and falling away is always important in order to make room for the new to root and grow and flourish. As the purge completes tonight, we may experience memories or dreams or thoughts that trigger emotions we thought were long gone. They are…they’re simply releasing. Avoid focusing on them for they will distract us from our path, direction of growth and movement. Instead, keep your eyes, thoughts, and emotions on your desired outcomes, setting intentions for this and the next three months.

For added punch, write your intentions on yellow paper with red ink (first and third chakras) and place them on a sacred altar or place of honor in your house or garden or bedroom. If it resonates, you could create a ritual where you burn the intentions with sacred fire and bury the ashes in fertile soil where they will be watered and support growth in plants and trees…thereby also supporting growth within you.

Or, you could work with a beeswax candle. The beeswax connects you with the medicine of the bees, which is supported change. They will come visit you, either in dreams or in waking life, to test your fear levels around the change you have requested. I’ve experienced both kinds of visitations. If they find that you are not fearful, they will bring you the change you desire…otherwise they will wait and keep testing you until your fear levels are low enough to embrace and receive the gift of change.

Just as with burning the intentions, invoke sacred fire when lighting the beeswax candle. This is to protect you and your intentions from anyone or anything that is less than the highest vibration. Once lit, speak your intentions as a declaration and commitment. The Universe can only hold as much commitment to your requests as you do, so ramp that volume up!

Finally, if there is still a lot of fear around the changes you wish to make, include an intention to identify the purpose this fear serves for you…for there is always a purpose. However, this purpose can always be served in higher and more evolved ways so it isn’t necessary that this fearful and limiting behavior or pattern or belief stay with you. You can ask for a more enlightened way of being and perceiving be downloaded into your energetic fields…in this and all dimensions and lifetimes where you currently express yourself. Invite your body deva and team to do the same. This will then allow a release of the unnecessary patterns, thoughts, beliefs, and habits making room for the new to come in without fear.

Today I remembered my camera as I walked to and from work. I have passed this tree so many times on this walk and it always captures both my attention and imagination. To be honest, it’s rather difficult to miss, as the tree is part of the sidewalk on a rather busy street. There are little lanterns hanging from the branches…each a different bright color. Strings of equally bright colors hang from the branches, each one filled with notes clipped to them. This truly is a very bright and beloved tree.

Each time the tree and I visit with each other I wonder who created this beautiful space and why? Then I wonder about all the people who, like me, walk by here frequently and have secret wishes they haven’t written out yet. I also wonder about the people who have left wishes here…what their lives are like…who loves them…and if any of the wishes have been fulfilled. I love that they have been so brave in putting their desires in such a public forum…opening themselves up to community with others simply through the act of participating.

I wonder, too, why this tree was chosen above all the others on the street. What is it about this tree that demonstrated the perfect container on which to drape humanity? And…I wonder what the tree thinks of it all.

I’m also tempted to read the wishes to find out what kinds of things people wish for…but I don’t. It seems to sacred and vulnerable of a space to intrude like that. I much prefer the magic of the mystery and a shared experience with others who find this lovely hidden piece of life. So I set my intention, express my wish, and continue on to work…feeling just a bit more connected with myself and the world around me. I love that.